The judge charges Zapatero's daughters and secretary

MadridThe day after José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero testified as an investigated person, Judge José Luis Calama makes a move and takes another step: he indicts his two daughters –Alba Rodríguez and Laura Rodríguez– and his secretary –Gertrudis Alcázar–. The magistrate did so after the PP requested it, as the leader of the popular prosecutions, pointing to the crimes of criminal organization, influence peddling, and money laundering. It was an initial request from Hazte Oír that the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office subsequently endorsed. Why are they investigating them?

On the one hand, the two daughters are administrators of What The Fav, a communications company that, according to the magistrate, played an "instrumental role" in the "channeling, concealment, or facilitation of relevant operations". The UDEF argued that it had a role of "operational coordination" and "logistical and documentary support channel" for the alleged influence peddling scheme. On the other hand, the magistrate described the former president's secretary as an "essential operational piece within the organized network" and the "central node of communication and document management" because she used the Spanish ex-president's email account. The judge, however, rejects indicting former minister José Luis Ábalos and his former advisor Koldo García.

In the ruling, José Luis Calama argues that summoning Zapatero's daughters as investigated parties is "necessary" to "preserve" their fundamental rights and is "the only compatible way" with the right to effective judicial protection. Why? Given their involvement, summoning them as witnesses would generate a "risk," as the obligation to tell the truth could "irreversibly" compromise their right not to testify against themselves and not to confess guilt. "Any action that may place a person in a situation of forced self-incrimination must be avoided, especially when there is a reasonable possibility that their procedural status may evolve towards imputation," he justifies.

For the moment, the PP avoids stirring the pot: "I will not draw blood over something that has to do with a matter as sacred as personal circumstances. It will be heavy enough for Zapatero to have gotten his daughters into this mess," said the spokesperson for the popular party, Borja Sémper, minutes after the news broke. In the corridors of Congress, sources from the PSOE downplayed its importance: they say it was "predictable" and they refer back to the statement from the former Spanish president, which they say has been "well received" by the socialist bases.

A "redistribution center" for economic flows

In the ruling that authorized the search of the company's headquarters, the judge stated that What The Fav was an "artificial" structure that received funds from clients of the influence network and from the structure itself, organized in a kind of "circular flow of funds." He considers that it operated as a "redistribution center" for economic flows, "channeling payments" to Zapatero and his circle. How did it do it? It generated "ad hoc invoices with a "generic concept" and "without any detail" with the sole objective of "providing formal cover" for financial movements that did not have real economic activity: "It does not carry out ordinary business activity, but rather acts as an instrumental vehicle," he summarized.

To justify Gertrudis Alcázar's indictment, the judge refers to the interlocutory order that authorized the search of Zapatero's office where the " were found.

Zapatero's secretary was an "essential operational piece"

To justify the indictment of Gertrudis Alcázar, the judge refers to the order that authorized the search of Zapatero's office, where the jewels valued at 1.3 million euros were found. He stated that she was in charge of preparing the invoices, which were a "fictitious documentary support" to "justify the network's financial movements", and that they did not correspond to an "effective economic reality".

Thus, for example, she asked if she should issue one or several invoices for an amount of 20,000 euros and asked for indications about the concepts, which the judge believes shows "prior agreement" and reveals "the absence of a real underlying service".

The judge refuses to request more information from the USA

Likewise, the judge closes the door to Zapatero's lawyer's request to ask for more information from the United States about the obtaining of the mobile phone messages of Rodolfo Reyes – who was a director of Plus Ultra representing the main shareholder – which was provided by an American agency and which are the key evidence against the former Spanish president. In the document, consulted by ARA, Víctor Moreno Catena expressed "reasonable doubts" about the "respect for the right to a fair trial" due to the "absence of complete data" on the obtaining, dumping, and custody of the device.

The former president's defense made a series of requests to verify if the conversations "truly meet the requirements of authenticity, integrity, and legality" so that they can be considered valid within the framework of Spanish criminal law. However, the judge is closing the door to this pending a response from the United States: until he receives it, he will not be able to make a "founded assessment" on the "necessity or appropriateness" of requesting more information.